Mario was able to reach out to David Glanzer of Comic-Con International for a small WonderCon interview. Enjoy!
When Nerds Attack: Last year’s Wondercon was reported to have shared the Anaheim Convention Center is a cheering and volleyball events. On the facility’s official events calendar I do not see anything else scheduled for this year’s convention. Does this mean more space will be utilized by Wondercon? And if so, how much more space?
David Glanzer: As of right now there are no other events in the facility. However this does not mean we have the entire convention center. We will be utilizing Halls A & B as well as the Arena and I believe some registration will be conducted in Hall E. So we do have more space than last year.
WNA: There are a lot of rumors floating around about Disney’s obvious lack of participation. Is there an official comment on that topic that you may share?
DG: Not every studio participates at each show every year. A few years ago there was a story about a studio not returning and much speculation was made of it. Then, the following year the studio did return. Again, it depends upon any number of variables but the truth is not every studio attends every year.
WNA: With a boom in the popularity of attending comic conventions seemingly on the rise through out the nation in recent years how has this affected Wondercon?
DG: WonderCon held its first Anaheim show last year because of unavailable space at the San Francisco facility. Staging a show in a new city in a new venue is always a challenge. However the turnout was very good, above expectations, and we hope that we will see good crowds this year as well.
WNA: Is there anything you have learned from last year that you hope to impliment going into your second year at Anaheim?
DG: We always review things that worked, and things that did not. We hope to have learned from some of our mistakes. I think the diversity of the floor is great this year and the addition of the Anaheim Arena is another aspect that I hope will work out well.
WNA: How has CCI’s relationships with studios changed now that you have established a much requested presence in the LA area?
DG: I’m not sure I understand the question. We’ve never received a request to have a Los Angeles show. As for our relationships with the studios, they, like all our relationships with exhibitors and participants, remain strong.
WNA: Thanks again for your time and I look forward to your responses.
DG: Thank you very much!
